Advice on lanced abscess

hi, i have not been on for a while but heres wots been happening.. 3 weeks ago i felt a little lump on my bottom close to my anus because i tend to get abscesses i went to my gp who confirmed it was an abscess (i already knew) it was smaller than a five pence piece, was given antibiotics co-amoxiclav 2 days after takin them i noticed the abscess had grown so much and the pain was so bad that i couldnt walk properly never mind go toilet everythin i did was so painful anywhos all this was happenin over the weekend so i waited until the monday mornin to fone my consultant thinkin that i needed stronger antibiotics only to b told to come in on the wednesday to see her. so i had to wait 2 days to b seen im a stubburn get so struggled at home until my appointment. so the day of the appointment came and i went in to see the consultant as son as she seen my abscess she sent me to the surgical ward where i had it lanced in 2 places cos the infection was spreadin pretty quick i stayed in over nite on fluids and iv antibiotics. so ive been goin to a clinic to get the packin changed and dressin at first everyday and now its every 2 days i have been told it could take upto 4/6 weeks to heal properly is this right? things were goin well and it seemed to b gettin better as in no pain and bleedin but the past 2 days its been gettin sore again and i noticed it was bleedin on thursday (this week) wen i removed the dressin, i mentioned this to the nurse who said it was ok and nothin to worry about.. i am back gettin new dressin tomorrow, should it start bleedin and hurting again??? any advice would b great as this is the first time ive had an abscess lanced but no stranger to abscesses. thanks xxx

Sorry you are having so much trouble with abscesses. Those little things are nasty and so painful...Are you on any antibiotics right now? Usually after I get my abscesses drained, my colorectal surgeon puts me on cipro/flagyl combo to help heal the infection up and prevent it from worsening.

no not on any antibiotics now i was on 2 different lots wen i left the hospital cant remember the names but i no it wasnt those. im seein my colorectal surgeon on monday so she can make sure its healin well so im guessin if i need anythin she will no xx

Hi nicola, Sorry you are going through this I know it is horrible.

I had a peri anal abscess which sounds similar to what you have had done.

Everything you have said to me sounds normal, it is normal for it to be bleeding, leaking puss the whole time while it is healing, this is just the body's way of keeping it clean and getting the nutrients and things it needs to heal it to the wound site.

And yes 4/6 weeks of healing sounds about right to me too. Just make sure you are keeping it as clean as you can. Try not to sit on it too much, sounds ridiculous I know! But it improves the blood flow.

I think it probably would be a good idea for you to still be on antibiotics for a while as it can easily build up again. Make sure you see someone if you feel it building up you go and see someone. It could have been those antibiotics that you are on, they give them different names in America!

Good luck to you, let me know if you have any questions.

thank u so much feel a little about it now.. just waitin for monday to see wot the surgeon thinks/says just hopin i dont have another abscess comin up but its headin that way xx

Mine came up again just two weeks after surgery and I was really down about it. But it popped by itself and then continued to heal ok.

had my appointment today they had to cauterize some of the wound as it kept bleedin but the surgeon said all is lookin well and he couldnt see another abscess even tho i can feel somethin :/ but i guess he knows wot hes doin... so im a little sore atm and ive gotta go back in a month so they can keep an eye on me cos of the amount of abscesses i get xx

Sounds like mostly good news! Just make sure you see someone if you think what you can feel is getting bigger.

yeah i defo will, thanks xx

back on antibiotics as i have another abscess comin up :/ hate this disease!!

So sorry nicola!
Hopefully the antibiotics will help x

i hope they help too... thanks for all ur advice xx

been in hospital again for 2 abscesses bein lanced not happy at all wen will this end so daily packing starts again... cant believed it happened so soon after the other one x

So sorry nicola! Stay strong. It will get better!

Have you had any scans to check for fistulas?

Are you still in hospital now?

im waitin for an appointment for an mri scan, no im out of hospital now. thanks xx

Ok, the MRI will hopefully show if there is anything causing the abscesses.
I think I had one straight after my operation so they could check they got it all.
Are you still on antibiotics?

i finished my antibiotics yesterday but the nurses changing the dressings has told me to get more antibiotics so ive gotta go gp later to get some xx

Ok, sounds like a good plan!

Hope you are ok x

yeah just hopin the antibiotics stop any infection comin back.. im ok just a little down cos i have to go through this again so quick after the last one xx

I know, I completely understand how you must feel. Just keep your chin up and hope for the best. By clearing them out soon it means that they haven't got too big and caused more damage. Always look for the positives x x

thank u so much for ur advice and kind words it means alot xx

well another abscess is comin up so on 2 lots of antibiotics and hopin they help..

Did they do an mri or EUA? I was spent 4 days over Thanksgiving in the hospital with an abscess so I am right there with you. No fistula spotted for mine but we will see if it comes back like yours. Do they suspect a fistula?

Oh no, you are really not having much fun at the moment are you

Hope you start to feel better soon x

ive just got an appointment for an mri which is next friday, i had an eua earlier this year nothin was found.. yeah they suspect a fistula or an abscess hidin or sumthin...

no not havin a great time haha but one good thing tho the antibiotics r workin so im happy the abscess aint gettin worse im just scared to stop takin them in case it comes back so seein my gp next week about havin antibiotics on stand by for over christmas time cos no way do i wanna go in hospital at that time xx

i must b the unluckiest person ever.. only got another abscess comin up so back ar gps tomoz fingers crossed i dont end up in hospital.. wen will this end?????? x

Are they different abscesses in different areas or is it the same one coming back?

If its the same one then its probably that the infection isn't clearing properly so it keeps building up again.

It does sound to me that there might be a fistula causing it. Because this kept happening to me too, only after a couple of days of it building up slowly I felt it go down again. I told my doctors about it but as it was going down on its own they didn't interfere. This all stopped after I had surgery to have the fistula layed open.

this new one is not too far from the ones i had drained, luckily i have an mri scan friday so fingers crossed they find somethin.. yeah my partner thinks its a fistula too i hope so cos i want an end to this xx

It would make sense if it was a fistula but they are nasty to deal with too. I think I was lucky with mine that they managed to fix it with surgery. A lot of people on here seem to have lots of problems with them. But try to stay positive x x

thanks.. im now back on 2 lots of antibiotics so im hopin they work and i dont end up in hospital :/ and ive also got an extra prescription for over the holidays in case i need them.. xx

keep us updated, nicola. good luck

I am surprised they don't just keep you on the antibiotics long term. I have been on antibiotics for a long time it seems to help. The other thing that kept my fistula draining and stopped it from backing up were hot baths. Two or three times a day.

well my latest abscess burst on its own so no surgery needed (yet) thank god!! i was thinkin suggestin long term antibiotics or at least till they find out whats causin them. barkbbdog, its only now that i can actually have a bath cos the others that were surgically drained av healed so its gonna b bath time all the time for me lol ive missed havin a bath, not keen on showers! xx